Demon Duelist Legacy: Dragon Arc
by Shade Adriel
Summary: A parallel prelude to WolfGeneral's DDL fictions. This is the story of how Adriel ascended to the position of Obelisk Blue.
1. Ryu's Pride and Joy

Disclaimer: I don't own YGO...unfortunately (I'd make a lot of money!) Anyway, this fic is written with permission from WolfGeneral. I think that Adriel is a bit of an ambiguous character in his own LDD fics, so I decided to write this to just give a bit of a background on how Adriel became the arrogant Obelisk Blue that he is. On a final note, I am using some cards that haven't even been released in Japan yet, so I kinda made up some of the defense stats... Anyway, I present to you...

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Dragon Arc

Chapter 1: Ryu's Pride and Joy

Ryu smiled. One last look and he was off, returning to his wife Amy Hiroshi. "Good luck, son." he whispered, the wind carrying his message to a slightly nervous-looking boy with unruly black hair...

_"What will we name him?" asked Amy.  
"I don't know. I haven't looked into it." Ryu replied to his wife. The two of them were looking down lovingly at a newborn half-demon, sleeping placidly in his mother's arms.  
"Names aren't something you're supposed to research, they're supposed to be something with meaning." Amy said, half-scolding her husband.  
Ryu thought to himself, trying to come up with a name that would fit. Then it hit him. He had adopted the last name of his best friend a while back after the Shadow Tournament, opting to stay as 'Ryu' rather than 'Jourgen' for legal purposes. 'Zaytel' was the last name that he used in accompaniment with this new title.  
"Adriel." Ryu announced firmly.  
"...I like it." Amy replied after a few moments of pondering._

Adriel wound his way up the path leading to the academy, taking in the view of the forest, ocean, and active volcano that constituted his new home. "Father said to try my hardest and make him proud. That's what I'll do." Adriel assured himself, subconsciously flicking the cards in his deck which was lodged in his pocket. A breeze blew past Adriel's spiky black hair and the bottom of his black, longsleeve shirt, causing it to flare out in front of him. _Good luck, son..._the wind whispered to him. Adriel turned around to see the form of his father flying into the horizon.

"I wish I could fly...but father said not to let anyone know I'm a half-demon." Adriel said to himself quietly...

_Ryu's phone rang in the pocket of his shirt. "Hello?" he said into the speaker.  
"Honey, Adriel cracked one of your card display cases. You have to teach him how to hide his powers!" Amy's frazzled voice moaned over the connection.  
"Amy, Adriel is only six. He's only coming into his powers. If we force him to repress those powers now, they may never evolve to their full potential." Ryu explained calmly, having repeated that exact string of words infinite times before.  
"Well wouldn't that be a good thing? Demons aren't accepted in today's society. People will think he's some sort of freak!" Amy cried.  
"But it's who he is. If we teach him that he should be ashamed of his identity, he will get nowhere in life. We have to trust that he'll be able to take care of himself." Ryu replied, still maintaining a calm tone.  
"He won't get anywhere in life if he keeps breaking everything!" Amy yelled. Ryu jerked the phone away from his ears.  
"...At least wait a few years. Then he'll understand." Ryu compromised, hanging up before he got an answer._

Adriel's mother won out in the end. Ryu had taught Adriel how to hide his demonic half well before Adriel even heard of the Duel Academy. The tail, wings, claws, and scales that represented Adriel's dragonic half had retracted into his body. His deep blue eyes and razor-sharp teeth, however, still showed faint signs of a supernatural presence. Turning a corner, Adriel got his first good look at the Duel Academy. Sighing, he stood in the breeze and absorbed the feeling of the cool, salty air around him. His black overshirt billowed out behind him, exposing his thin white undershirt. Adriel's pants were a set with his overshirt, black and riddled with pockets. Adriel had found a purpose for each one. The bottoms of the legs of his pants stopped right above his ankle, well out of the way of his black boots. The boots had steel-capped toes. However, none of this would matter very soon, for the Duel Academy called for a strict uniform.

Adriel continued on his way, getting closer and closer to his goal. He felt his deck in his pocket and his DuelDisc on his hand. The DuelDisc was a cutting-edge model of the DuelDisk made for portability. Ryu had bought the original model for Adriel on his tenth birthday, but the tech came with a lifetime warranty. So whenever a new model came out, Adriel's disc would 'mysteriously' break, and rather than spend the money on discontinued parts, KaibaCorp simply gave Adriel a newer model. The specs for the system were printed on a reversible panel that the deck was placed on top of:

**KC DuelDisc Model 5**

LEFT DISC: Attaches to the hand via an elastic band that the hand is placed through and four leather loops through which the four main fingers are placed through. The top of the disc is flat with a colored, engraved image chosen by the customer, protected by a solid glass dome.  
RIGHT DISC: Attaches to the hand via an elastic band that the hand is placed through and four leather loops through which the four main fingers are placed through. The deck and graveyard slots are facing away from each other on opposite ends of the disc. The top of the disc is flat and features two LED bars, the top displaying the life points of the user and the bottom displaying the life points of the opponent.  
CHAIN: Five rectangular devices with curved corners are connected together and to the LEFT DISC via a system of gold-plated wiring with black plastic insulation. A metal ring clasps around the forearm to attach to the user. Each device functions as one card pad with a monster zone on its surface and a spell/trap zone in its center.  
OPERATION: The system uses a personal IP address that connects to the main KC server. The projection units are stored perpendicular to the deck and graveyard slots on the RIGHT DISC.

Adriel pulled open the doors to the academy and walked through its threshold. The inside of the entrance hall was a cool, sterile-looking room adorned with statues etcetera. Further up the hall, a set of lines were forming. Adriel was stopped by a man in a white coat. "Excuse me, sir, but are you a member of this academy?"

"Oh, uh...no, but I'm going to audition...I mean apply to the uh...academy..." Adriel stuttered, looking down the entire time. His cheeks were flushed.

"Alright, then. What's your name?" the man asked, feeling sorry for Adriel.

"Adriel Zaytel." Adriel replied as quickly as he could.

"Alright. You'll be in that last line. Make sure you have your forms with you, because that's one of the registration lines. As soon as they make sure everything is accurate, they'll let you into the test room." the man said.

Adriel nodded and moved towards the lines. "Oh," the man added, "Make sure your deck is accessible. They'll want to give it a look to get an estimate as to what your skill level is." Adriel's hand shot into his pocket.

_"Hey son," Ryu said. Adriel was seated in his room at his desk. He hadn't noticed his dad unlock the door and walk in.  
"Oh...hi dad!" Adriel said, rapidly concealing his demonic attributes.  
"Remember, I don't care that you're half-demon. You don't need to hide it around me." Ryu said, reassuring his son.  
"Oh...yeah." Adriel said.  
"Anyway, since you're going to take the entrance exam for the academy soon, I thought we might look over your deck, but it seems you've beat me to it." Ryu explained.  
"Yeah...but I don't think it's so good yet. Can you help?" Adriel asked.  
"Of course. Now what kind of deck are you going to use?" Ryu asked.  
"Dragons." Adriel said flat-out. Ryu chuckled in response.  
"Well if that's the case, then I can definitely help you." Ryu thumbed through his son's deck. "They sure have interesting cards now." he said as he reached the end. "First of all, you need to focus on just dragons. Right now it looks like you're also trying to focus on stalling your opponent, but that doesn't fit this deck." Ryu said, pulling out **Swords of Revealing Light**, **Big Shield Gardna**, **Gravity Bind**, **Level-Limit B**, **Curse of Fiend**, and **Man-Eater Bug**.  
"Additionally, some cards just don't seem to make much sense. For instance, **Koitsu** and **Metamorphosis**."  
"See? I'll never be able to do this." Adriel said in defeat.  
"Hmm. How about this." Ryu said, trying to encourage his son. "Look at this combo here. You put in three **Cyber Dragon** cards. Now do you know a way of getting those monsters on the field faster, since they require tributes?" Ryu questioned.  
"Uhh...how about this?" asked Adriel, taking **Change of Heart** from his deck and showing it to his father.  
"Yes, that is one way. However, you should never rely on your opponent to make your plays. So how about a way that relies only on your monsters?" Ryu asked.  
Adriel pulled out two cards from the pile his father had discarded. "That's why I put in Koitsu and Metamorphosis. That way I can bring out **Cyber End Dragon** really fast."  
"But have you thought of how to get Koitsu on the field?" Ryu asked.  
"Uhh..." Adriel replied.  
"Try again." Ryu said a bit sternly. Adriel thought for a moment before pulling out one card from his collection and one from his deck. "**Tribute to the Doomed **and **Monster Reborn**." he declared.  
"Exactly." Ryu beamed. "That way, you get to destroy one of their monsters as well as getting a strong monster into the graveyard and then back onto the field. Now try a way that takes advantage of your monster's effect."  
Adriel, more confident, pulled the card **Burst Breath** out of his collection. "This one." he decided.  
"I was thinking maybe something less...permanent." Ryu said patiently. Adriel tried again and showed his father a card.  
"**Interdimensional Matter Transporter** is exactly what I was thinking of." Ryu said as appreciatively as he could.  
"...Am I done?" asked Adriel.  
"Not yet. A few more changes, though, and you should be fine." Ryu replied. Adriel returned to work._

"Excuse me, sir!" shouted a harried voice. Adriel snapped out of his trance.

"Huh? Oh, sorry..." he said, hurrying over to the vacant registration desk and handing the woman the necessary papers.

"That's alright...Adriel, is it?" she said, butchering his name. Adriel opted not to correct her.

"Anyway, you're all cleared. The written exam is in the large room to your right. Have your deck on the desk in front of you and an official will check it while you take the written exam. Good luck." she said, stashing Adriel's papers in a file.

Adriel continued into the examination room and chose a seat close to the front of the room. Many other students were already seated. Adriel's desk was next to that of an incredibly attractive girl. Their hair colors matched perfectly. Her body fit into a petit frame, and she was staring ahead in a bored manner. Adriel's heart began to race a bit...especially when he noticed her two wolf ears protruding from her head. He sat down next to her. "Hi...my name is Adriel," he said, letting his fangs grow out a bit.

"Congratulations." the girl replied as she continued to gaze a hole into the wall.

"...what's your name?" Adriel asked, a bit surprised at this girls' lack of manners.

"Does my name matter to you?" she asked.

"...yeah, sure. I mean, you know my name now, so I should know yours, right?" he replied.

"Wrong." the demoness replied.

"..." Adriel would have continued, but a professor walked into the room with a massive amount of paper in a wagon that he pulled behind him.

"Everyone please come up here and get a copy of the test. When I say so, you have an hour and a half to complete the examination. In that time, I and several other professors will be examining your decks, which I see are all on the tables in front of you. More instructions will be given out after the test." the man said, moving aside as students began to file down the rows.

_Forty minutes left..._Adriel thought as he wrote. _"Which of the following is not a technique in summoning a high level monster?." _Adriel chuckled to himself as he chose his answer; _"B) Drawing cards equal to that monster's level"_

_Fifteen minutes..._ Adriel thought, now on the final question, which was to write a micro-essay on the construction of his deck.

_"My deck is based around dragon-type monsters. Dragons have high attack powers and many combos exist to quickly summon out these creatures. Additionally, support for dragon-type monsters exists in the form of cards with strong effects that work only for dragon monsters, such as 'Stamping Destruction'. Finally, dragon monsters often have powerful effects, such as the effects of the Horus dragon family.  
The main creature of my deck is called **Cyber Dragon**. Although this monster is a machine, I believe it belongs in my deck because of its overall theme. To give my monster the full benefit of my deck, however, I have added several cards which change the sub-type of that monster and its evolved forms."_

Adriel finished the exam with ten minutes left. In this time, the deck inspector came by his desk and looked through his cards. Adriel pointed out some of his favorite combos, which the deck inspector took note of on his grading sheet. The girl next tohim finished with three seconds left, but he noticed her essay appeared more as a novel than a "micro-essay" which insinuated something the length of a paragraph.

"Thank you, the examination period is over. Please hand in your papers, and in a few minutes, the results of the written exam will be displayed on the wall behind me." said the supervisor.

A few minutes and loads of paper later, the wall flickered to life, changing from the convincing default image of the wall to a computer monitor. Names began to appear.

"...what number did you get?" Adriel asked his seat mate.

"Keh! Don't think I'm that stupid! ...although I see that you are number 17. Congratulations, I suppose." the girl replied before turning on her heels and walking through the next door. Adriel followed her, much to the dismay of the supervisor, who had not yet given out instructions.


	2. An Animated Duel

Disclaimer: I don't own YGO...unfortunately (I'd make a lot of money!) This chapter and chapter 1 were originally the same chapter. However, upon finishing the duel, I decided to split the two up. That, and NOT continue the super-long chapter that would have been chapter 1. So now instead of chapter 1 (and possibly 2), I have chapters 1, 2, 3 (and possibly 4) if everything goes well.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Dragon Arc

Chapter 2: An Animated Duel

"Congratulations on your performance on the written exam." said another man, this one in a blue coat accompanied with thin-frame glasses. "The final requirement for entrance is that each of you duel a proctor. Out of all of the victors, the students who scored highest on the entrance examination will be admitted into the academy." explained the administrator.

Adriel waited nervously, but as the duels went in cycles of four, he had to wait about an hour and a half to duel. Finally, however... "Examinees numbers 17 through 20, please enter the arenas!"

Adriel stepped into an arena where a man in a white coat with half-frame glasses was waiting for him. It was the very same man who had checked his deck. "Welcome to your entrance examination! Since your number is so high, all you have to do is beat me to get guaranteed access into the academy!" the man said in enthusiasm.

"Thank you, sir." Adriel replied, remembering to be respectful.

"Now then, we'll begin the duel. It's policy to let newcomers make the first move." the proctor said as he drew five cards and waited patiently for Adriel to move.

"Alright..." muttered Adriel as he drew a sixth card. "I'll start our duel by summoning **Luster Dragon #2** in attack mode." (1900/1600) A dragon composed of what appeared to be living sapphire appeared in front of Adriel. "Then I'll set two cards face down and end my turn."

"My move." Adriel's opponent called. "I'll summon a monster in defense mode along with one card face down for now." Two brown-backed cards appeared in front of the proctor.

"I draw again." Adriel said, observing his options. "Now I summon **Masked Dragon** in defense mode." A red and white dragon appeared in front of Adriel, before the card it was standing on shattered and it fell into a pit, which closed up afterwards.

"Your monster fell into my **Trap Hole** card." his opponent stated, showing Adriel the trap before putting it in his graveyard.  
"Darn..." Adriel said, cursing himself for making such a rookie mistake. "I attack your facedown monster!" he shouted as his dragon launched itself at the facedown monster.

"Another hasty move. My monster was **Hane**** Hane**, meaning your monster is sent back to your hand." Adriel looked on in depression as his Luster Dragon shrunk and flew backwards into its card.

"Now it's my move again. I'll activate the card I just drew, **Toon**** World**, at a cost of 1000 life points." Adriel's opponent's field warped as a green-backed book opened and laid itself in his monster zones. "Since I've played **Toon**** World**, I'll be able to summon **Toon**** Mermaid** to the field." (1400/1500) A cartoonish mermaid appeared on the proctor's field, lying inside of a giant clam. "However, my monster cannot attack on the turn it was summoned, so I set a card and end my move."  
Adriel drew a card and smiled. "I re-summon **Luster Dragon #2** and activate **Stamping Destruction**!" Adriel's dragon reappeared on the field and flew at his opponent's field. "This card destroys one spell or trap card and deals you 500 points of damage." Adriel said. However, his dragon was stopped.

"I activated the card **Toon**** Jammer** since Toon World is on the field. I discard one card from my hand. It negates one spell card and bounces the effect back to you." his opponent replied calmly as Adriel's life points dipped by 500 and one of his set cards was destroyed.

Adriel paused. "Fine then. I attack your monster with **Luster Dragon #2**!" The dragon fired off several shards of sapphire, which struck the mermaid and destroyed it. (A LP: 3500 P LP: 2500)

"Very good play, but now it's my move." Adriel's opponent drew his card.

"I now activate **Toon**** Attraction**! Working like Toon Jammer, this card lets me take control of one of your monsters for the duration of my turn if Toon World is on the field. Furthermore, if that monster leaves the field, I gain life points equal to that monster's base attack points." Adriel's dragon flew over to his opponent's side of the field.

"No!" shouted Adriel.

"Yes...sorry. Now I sacrifice-"

Suddenly, a card flipped itself on Adriel's field. "You activated **Dragon's Egg**! This card creates an **Egg Token** on both of our fields." (/0/0/EARTH/Dragon) Two dragon eggs appeared, one on Adriel's field and one on the proctor's field. "This card returns your field to how it was before the summoning of your monster with the addition of the egg token."

The proctor sighed. "Very well. I guess I have to end my turn."

Adriel's dragon returned to his field next to his egg. "Next, the effect of the egg tokens reveals itself. During our main phases, each of us have two options: summon a level four or lower dragon from our decks, or gain 500 life points." As Adriel said this, his egg transformed into a dragon with a sharp, elongated nose. "**Spear Dragon** is my choice." (1900/0)

"Excellent, I see your strategy. You plan to attack my dragon egg with Spear Dragon, dealing trample damage to my life points, and then attack directly with Luster Dragon." the man said, applauding lightly.

"Yes...I do. But since you have no spell or trap cards, you won't be able to stop me. Spear Dragon, Gale Strike!" A burst of wind erupted out of Spear Dragon's mouth, but was reflected by the egg and launched straight at Adriel. (A LP: 1600 P LP: 2500)

"What happened?" Adriel asked.

"The card I discarded earlier for the effect of **Toon**** Jammer** was a card known as **Toon**** Defense**. It can only be activated from the graveyard if I was the one to send it there. I negate one of your attacks, you lose life points equal to the attack of your monster, and the target of your attack is cloned until destroyed." The Proctor suddenly had two eggs on his field instead of one. "However, all monsters I summon for the next turn, including the monsters currently on the field, are switched into defense mode until the end of my next turn."

"Is it my move?" Adriel asked. The proctor nodded in response.

"Then I'll continue my attack by destroying one of your eggs with **Luster Dragon #2**." Adriel's other dragon threw itself at one of the two eggs that Adriel's opponent had created. The egg cracked and disappeared.

"My turn." the proctor said as he drew. "I now use your token to gain 500 life points." (A LP: 1600 P LP: 3000) "Since I have no monsters on my field, I will defend with this monster in defense mode." A brown card appeared in front of him. "I then set one card face down and end my turn."

Adriel drew his card. He looked at what he had drawn and smiled. "I sacrifice **Spear Dragon** for **Cyber Dragon**!" (2100/1600) The first of Adriel's three dragons appeared on the field, roaring.

"So, you've gotten your first dragon onto the field. However, I won't let you fuse your best monster. Activate set card, **Toon**** Jar**!" A gigantic cookie jar appeared on the field, sucking in Adriel's Cyber Dragon. "Toon Jar is a continuous trap card whose effect states that I can choose one sub-type of monster. As long as this card is on the field, monsters of that type are considered to be 'in the jar'. This means that you cannot attack or defend with them. Nor can you take your monster off of the field in any way...most notably through a fusion."

Adriel paled in response. "Not good...but at least I can run through your defenses now! Luster Dragon, attack his set monster!" A thick stream of jagged sapphire blasted into the set card, shredding it. However, the sapphire spikes merely bounced off of a rounded shell of ice. That shell shattered violently, taking away 100 of Adriel's life points.

"**Toon**** Aqua Madoor** has 2000 defense points, 100 more than the attack points of your dragon." the proctor stated, drawing a card. "Now, however, I sacrifice it for something stronger! Come out, **Toon**** Summoned Skull**!" (2500/1200) A blue version of Summoned Skull with big, googly yellow eyes popped out of its card. "And it seems that you do not have any cards to protect yourself with, either. Attack his Luster Dragon!"

Several bolts of blue electricity shot out at Adriel's creature, which was instantly destroyed. Adriel's life points passed the 1000 line. (A LP: 900 P LP: 3000)

"I have to turn this around!" Adriel grunted in frustration, drawing his card. He looked his hand over. (**Cyber Dragon**, **Cyber Dragon**, **DNA Injection**, **Pot of Greed**) _"I've got four cards. I'll play Pot of Greed, but I _have_to draw a card that can destroy his jar!"_ Adriel hesitantly pulled out his Pot of Greed card. "I activate Pot of Greed!" Adriel said as he drew two new cards. _"Power Bond...just great.__ Why now? I could've used it last turn to fuse my dragons! Not like it'd have mattered, he'd just have sucked my stronger monster into the jar. I might as well forfeit, not like a De-Fusion card helps me without a fusion monster..."_

Adriel reached for his deck, feeling very upset that his life was about to be over...for the next year until the academy started calling for applications again. However...

"Did you know that when the jar is empty, it's destroyed?" asked Adriel's opponent.

"Huh...what?" Adriel asked, no longer reaching for his deck.

"Oh, nothing...just a thought..." the proctor said nonchalantly as he fiddled with his hair.

_"What does that mean? ...wait." _Adriel surveyed his five-card hand again. _"Why is he helping me? I would've surrendered, but now I've won! I'll thank him later, I guess." _Adriel said to himself, pulling out one of his cards. "I play the card **DNA Injection**!"

A giant hypodermic needle appeared on the field with a clear liquid inside of it. The needle dropped itself into the proctor's jar, and seconds later, Adriel's **Cyber Dragon** flew out of it. Its surface, however, was now composed of dragon scales, not metal. The jar, now empty, exploded into dust. "DNA Injection changes the sub-type of any monster I choose until I say otherwise. Then, if that monster is destroyed, I can summon out a monster of the same sub-type I changed the original monster into. However, that won't be necessary, because I now cancel the effect of DNA Injecetion and activate **Power Bond**!"

Adriel's other two Cyber Dragons appeared on either side of the first. The three of them were sucked into a vortex, tail end first, until all that remained on the surface were their heads. The monsters began to glow and the vortex disappeared, leaving one monster in their wake. "**Cyber End Dragon** is called to the field!" (4000/3500) The monster had three heads attached to one sinewy metal body, from which two wings erupted. "Thanks to Power Bond, my monster's attack points become doubled for the turn, making them 8000!" (8000/3500)

"The duel is mine! Cyber End Dragon, attack Toon Summoned Skull with Eternal Evolution Burst!"

Three orange balls of light charged in the dragon's three mouths. They erupted in a blast of energy, all targeting the proctor's fiend, which stood no chance. A monumental 5500 life points later, the proctor was down to zero life points, and Adriel had won the duel. _"I did it...I'm in!"_ Adriel thought to himself as his dragon roared one more time before the holograms shut off.


	3. Gift of the Proctor

Disclaimer: I don't own YGO...unfortunately (I'd make a lot of money!) Here is chapter 3. Chapter five will be the first chapter that replies to reviews. This fic was posted as chapter four was being written.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Dragon Arc

Chapter 3: Gift of the Proctor

"That was an excellent duel." the proctor said as he put his deck away.

"Yes...thank you, sir." Adriel said, bowing. "And thank you for helping me right at the end." he added.

"On that note," said a stern voice from behind Adriel, "We are very disappointed in you, Mr. Haruki. Cheating from the applicants has been experienced before, but never from the faculty. We'll work out the details later, but know that you're out of a job." the man said.

"Wait, you can't do that!" said Adriel in a very out of character outburst.

"Actually, young man, I can. I am in charge of admissions office and I employ every one of our proctors. Therefore, thanks to the little hint that Mr. Haruki gave you at the end of your duel, he is fired. You should be more worried, however, about yourself. We have nothing in our constitution mentioning a proctor cheating for a student. You might not be allowed in the academy." the man continued.

"Adriel, it's okay." said Mr. Haruki. "Besides, it's just a summer job. I have to get back home for the start of the first semester, anyway." he added.

"...alright." Adriel replied, stepping back respectfully.

"Come with us." said the admissions director, leading two suits behind him. Mr. Haruki moved to follow them, but stopped for a moment.

"Here, have this." he said, giving Adriel his deck box.

"Wh-What? You can't give me your deck!" Adriel said in a hushed voice.

"I can and I will. Trust me...there is more to that deck than toon monsters. Take tonight to find out what I mean." he said as he left.

"But Mr. Haruki-" Adriel started.

"The name's Aeron." Adriel's short-lived 'mentor' said as he walked through the door.

Several hours later, Adriel was called to the admissions office. He had, for that time, taken to watching the duels going on. He took special notice of the duel between his female seatmate from the test and her unfortunate proctor. She tore him apart in three quick turns. Adriel also took notice of the fact that her name was "Erika Amero", according to her ranking in the test.

"Thank you for coming." said the admissions director as Adriel edged into a chair. "Now then, I assume you know why you are here. We've never experienced this kind of situation before. Normally, I'd be inclined to just kick you out and be done with it," the man said as Adriel blanched. "However, you had an exceptionally good score on the test." Adriel sighed in relief.

"Your essay, on the other hand, is not so impressive." The color that had returned to the half-demon's face was drained again. "Your grammar is terrible and your duel monsters terminology is even worse." While Adriel knew that his essay would've gone by unnoticed at home, he chose not to mention this fact.

"I attribute these mistakes, however, to simple boyish ignorance." Adriel didn't know whether to take that as a good thing or a bad thing. "Therefore, we are giving you two options. Before we explain, however, let me tell you how we decided what those options would be. The essay obviously counts against you. And depending on what option you choose, the duel will either count for or against you. The test, however, counts for you, no matter what. Your two options are to either duel me or be admitted in the Osiris Red dormitory. If you duel me and win, you will be admitted in the Ra Yellow dormitory. If you lose, however, you will not be admitted into the academy." the man stated.

Adriel immediately reached into his pocket for his deck and began to pull it out, before he realized that his deck was still in his DuelDisc. He deftly pulled Aeron's deck box from his pocket and onto his lap, noticing that the bottom 'card' inside was actually a piece of paper. It was a relatively long note labeled "Tips". Adriel read the first line relatively quickly:

_"_**NEVER** _duel a staff member under _**ANY **_circumstances!"  
_

_  
"So Aeron already anticipated that this would happen."_ Adriel thought to himself as he replied, "I'd like to be admitted into Osiris Red, please." he said politely.

"Very well," replied the admissions officer, looking a bit put out. However, a deal was a deal, and he signed off on Adriel's forms and stamped them with a red insignia bearing an image of the sky dragon. "Welcome to the academy."

Adriel's dorm was a small-looking building that slightly resembled an apartment complex. A cheap apartment complex. He lugged his suitcase into a corner and threw his new uniform and duel disk onto the top bunk. _"Heh, this room is so small that the third bunk is only slightly taller than me... But I don't think anyone will notice if I sleep as a demon."_ he thought, glad to be able to let down his guard at least at night. Adriel grabbed his uniform and surveyed it. He wasn't too pleased.

"I really hate uniforms...especially red uniforms." he muttered. The uniform luckily consisted only of a red and white jacket.  
Other limitations were also imposed. "Where am I supposed to put all my stuff?" Adriel asked himself as he quickly emptied his pants pockets. Adriel pulled out a longsleeve black shirt, but quickly decided that his pants pockets were vital to everyday life, and anyone who tried to make him change clothes could challenge him to a duel.

"I wish I'd have thought about that before I emptied my pockets..." he sighed as he took of his black overshirt.

"Just make sure you clean up the mess." muttered a voice.

Adriel nearly jumped out of his skin. He instinctively reached for his Duel Disc, thinking that the intrusion had to be a demon to go undetected, but then realized that he himself had not been paying attention.

"Why?" Adriel asked as he pulled off his white undershirt and grabbed his longsleeve black shirt.

"Because I don't like messes." said the new boy as he moved his stuff to the corner.

"Oh. Sorry." Adriel replied as he surveyed this new boy. He was pretty tall, maybe within an inch or two of Adriel. He definitely weighed more than Adriel in his non-demon form, although it wasn't from fat. The guy was definitely strong. He was no bodybuilder, but the presence of muscles was more defined than that of Adriel, who was lithe and supple in his human state. This was made obvious as he changed into his uniform.

He wore exactly the same thing Adriel was, except he was wearing a studded belt with a chain hanging off one loop and going into his pocket. A bracelet to match his belt was resting on his right wrist, since his DuelDisk assumedly attached to his left. His thin undershirt was black, not white. Sunglasses had originally covered his green eyes (which contrasted the color of his long, spiky brown hair), but the boy had removed those earlier on. Adriel's roommate, however, made no move to take off any of his accessories. He had merely, like Adriel, changed shirts and put on the jacket.

Adriel finished dressing before he asked questions. "Name?" he asked sharply.

"Chase Tamer." was the equally antisocial reply.

"Adriel Zaytel." Adriel replied before putting all his stuff away. Chase claimed the bottom bunk.

"Uh...how old are you?" questioned the dragon demon.

"Fifteen." replied Chase, who was lying on his bed.

"Me too." Adriel replied as he climbed up onto his own bunk. The welcoming ceremony wasn't until the next night, so there was a 24 hour block to buy and trade cards, have a few practice duels, and just socialize in general. Adriel, however, felt like his deck was sufficient and that he shouldn't rush into meeting people. His roommates were enough for one day.

"You duel?" Adriel asked as he pulled out his deck and Aeron's deck. He then realized how stupid of a question that was. "What kind of deck do you run?" he corrected.

"Fiends."

"I play dragons." Adriel replied as he pulled out Aeron's note and read it.

_"_**NEVER** _duel a staff member under_ **ANY** _circumstances!  
Always have a way out  
The ends don't justify the means  
Underestimating is for underachievers  
Regard choices with caution  
Every card counts_"

As he finished the note, the door once again opened. A brownish blonde-headed boy slowly walked into the room. "...hey." he said as he found a place to put his stuff. Adriel glanced over his bed and noted that this boy, too, was wearing the same clothes. His eyes were amber brown in color and he was wearing frameless glasses with silver arms. His hair was slightly shorter than Adriel's and was worn in a Caesar-style cut. He had buttoned his black shirt up, but left it out of his pants. The teen appeared to be closer to Adriel than Chase in body build, perhaps a bit less muscular. He, like his roommates, opted to keep as much of his clothes on as possible.

"Adriel Zaytel, 15, dragons." Adriel said as he returned to his work.

"Chase Hunter, 15, fiends." came Chase's reply.

"Uh...Eric Kaiden, 15, machines." Eric replied

Adriel took some time to think about the bizzare fact that all three boys in the room wore exactly the same thing. He decided, however, that such things were of no real consequence and continued to look through Aeron's deck. The toon monsters Adriel fought against, along with their support were present. Suddenly, he gasped sharply.

"Hn?" questioned Chase.

"Oh...nothing." Adriel replied. _"Why is this in here!"_ What Adriel found was a black foil pack of cards. There was no fancy design, just one label: "Dragon I". Adriel had only ever heard of the type packs. They were extremely rare cards and contained extremely strong support for the type they were named after. Holding his breath, Adriel opened the pack.  
_"...what?"_ Inside the pack were two things, a card and a note. Adriel opted to first read the note:

_"Hey Adriel, I bet I fooled you, didn't I? Well, here's how it is. I was more than a temp. I was someone assigned to make sure you got into the academy, employed by...well, actually, I don't know who really put me up to the job. I got a letter, sent a reply, and got a package a few days later. That's it, really._

_Anyway, here's the deal. This paper only holds so much text, and I want to talk to you. I have a secret hideout in the forest nearby, and there's a phone in there. The only number on autodial is my cell, so call me from there."_

Adriel put that note with the other one and looked at the card.

TYP – DR1 Ult. Rare  
**Dragon's Gathering** TRAP  
Trap

Use this card only if you have a dragon monster on your field. Search your deck for one dragon card that can fuse with the monster on your field. Immediately fuse these two monsters as well as any other monster you have on the field that can fuse with the designated two monsters.

Instantly, Adriel pulled out a card from his deck and replaced it. Getting Cyber End Dragon onto the field instantly became easier.

"Adriel?" asked Eric. Adriel realized that Eric had been calling him for a while.

"Oh...sorry. Yeah?" he asked.

"Time to go to dinner." Eric replied. Chase was already standing at the door.

"Right...sorry. Let's go." Adriel apologized as he put his deck in his pocket and jumped off of the bed. The three of them left for dinner.


	4. A Rash Move

Disclaimer: Keh. I lied. Lethargy made it so you all get to be answered a bit faster. My IM is WolvenLightning, give me yours if you want a faster answer (I have security set to buddies only, so you can't randomly IM me)

Chapter 1:  
**Seeker of the Soul** – I already pretty much know what will happen to make Adriel the way he is in WG's fic. I can tell you more if you want sometime.  
**WolfGeneral** – Hmm...sorry again! Anyway, the current deck Adriel runs is not that close to the deck I sent you, and the end result won't be 100, either.

Chapter 2:  
**G.O.T. Nick** – Hmm. Didn't catch that. But then again, they're playing with different rules than the current game...remember, 4000 LP and such. Perhaps it's an enhanced version of the Toon Skull...you never know... Oo  
**Seeker of the Soul – **Toons on bulk? No. Cards given to the academy's staff to test the students. Obviously, Industrial Illusions knows about the academy, so why not make a partnership? Let's ignore the fact that Kaiba would decline, eh?  
**Orgoth**** – **You'll see soon. Rather, you already saw, because that detail was in chapter 3.  
**Gryphinwyrm7** – Refer to Seeker's answer. Anyway, no hard feelings, because I too get very tied to characters I submit to people.

Chapter 3:  
**G.O.T. Nick/Seeker of the Soul** – Yeah, more will be explained in chapter 6.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Dragon Arc

Chapter 4: A Rash Move 

Adriel, Chase, and Eric got quite a few odd glances as they walked into the dining hall. "Who're you, the three musketeers?" came a snide remark from an Obelisk Blue student. Adriel thought about ripping his throat out, but decided that Ryu wouldn't like that very much.

"O...kay..." muttered Chase as the trio walked towards the serving line. Suddenly, Adriel spied the girl that he was trying to talk to earlier.  
"Hey!" he said. "Uhh...you look good in that uniform!"

Adriel didn't have time to blink as he instantly blocked a punch to the face. "Was it something I said?" he asked.

"Don't ever talk to me like that again, you got it?" the girl snarled before stalking back to her two friends. Adriel only assumed that they were her roommates.

"Nice reflexes, dude." said Eric. Adriel shrugged and grabbed a tray.

"I need to duel someone..." muttered Chase. His DuelDisk was attached to his arm and his deck was already in its slot, like he knew someone would be dueling.

"Just eat for now." Adriel replied. "We shouldn't duel anyone until classes start...not with DuelDisks, anyway." he muttered.

"Yeah, that might look weird. I mean, we're supposed to be the worst in the school, so if we go around challenging other students, it could be construed as a rash move." Eric added.

"...fine. I'm dueling one of you when we get back." Chase replied as he poked the food with his fork.

Adriel and Eric exchanged glances, not sure what to expect from their roommate.

* * *

"Which one?" asked Chase as he locked their door. 

"Uhh...him." Eric replied.

"Adriel? You ready?" Chase asked.

"...no. I'm too tired. Duel Eric." Adriel replied, feigning exhaustion and climbing into his bunk.

"..." Eric was speechless, but Chase had already activated his DuelDisk. "Wait, what!" Eric cried. "We can't use DuelDisks in here! The room is too small!" he shouted.

"Well according to Adriel, we'll look stupid if we do it anywhere else." Chase said.

"...no, that's okay, I'll just look stupid." Eric told Chase, giving Adriel a look.

"Uhh...yeah, I guess we can go outside." Adriel commented, getting out of bed.

"I thought you were tired?" Eric asked.

"Uh. Yeah. I am. But I can still watch, right?" Adriel replied. Eric sighed and opened the door.

* * *

"Okay, we'll duel here." Chase said. He was standing near the edge of the small cliff that the Osiris Red dorms were located on.  
"Alright." Eric replied, activating his disk. Chase did the same. 

"I'm going first, since you challenged me." Eric said as he drew a card. "I'll start by summoning this card in defense mode. Then I'll lay two cards face down and end my turn." Three face-down cards appeared in front of Eric.

"My move. I'll play **Archfiend Soldier** in attack mode as well as one card face down." A soldier outfitted in armor with a cape appeared on the field. "I'm not going to risk attacking your monster...yet. End turn."

Eric drew and smiled. "First I'll use the effect of my facedown monster, **Nanotech Antibodies**!" (1200/900) Eric's card turned into a swarm of shiny, white globs. "This monster allows me to sacrifice it to remove from play one monster on the field along with any copies either of us have." The antibodies swarmed Chase's soldier and dissolved it. Chase took it, and both copies in his deck, and removed them from play. "Next I summon **Mechanicalchaser**!" (1850/800) A ball-shaped robot with several arms and two wings appeared in front of Eric. "Attack him directly!"

Chase grimaced as the spear Eric's monster was holding shot 'through' him and lowered his life points significantly. (C LP: 2150 E LP: 4000) "I now end my turn."

Chase drew as Eric's monster retrieved its spear. "You'll wish you didn't remove my monster." Chase said as he slapped his new monster onto his DuelDisk. "**Residual Chaos LV2**!" (800/500) A turquoise-colored ball of semitransparent goo appeared in front of Chase. It had two yellow eyes and two silver steel plates on the sides of its body.

Eric chuckled. "What's that going to do to me? My monster has over 1000 more attack points than that droplet of a monster."

Chace grinned as he pulled his deck out of its slot. "The effect of my monster now activates. If, in my opponent's last turn, more than one card was sent to the graveyard or removed from play, my monster levels up and becomes stronger." (1800/1500) Chase's monster tripled in size before four long protrusions and one short one extended from its body. Its yellow eyes moved into the short protrusion. Steel plates appeared on the ends of the longer extensions, which appeared to be limbs, and all around the short 'head', save for the 'face'.

"My monster is still stronger!" said Eric confidently.

"Don't be so sure. My face-down card begs to differ." Chase flipped a card on his side of the field. "The power of **Deal of Specter** raises my monster's attack points by 100 for every card removed from play on my side of the field for this turn." Chase's monster suddenly had 2100 attack points. "Attack his monster!"

It was Eric's turn to feel pain as Chase's monster attacked. It shot its arms and legs at Mechanicalchaser, breaking off its limbs. It then engulfed the monster, metal corroding and warping. The remains were spat at Eric. (C LP: 2150 E LP: 3750)

"My move!" Eric said as he pulled a card from his deck. "I set this card face down and summon **Battery Blood** to the field!" (1700/1500) A floating pool of quicksilver-looking liquid appeared in front of Eric. "Battery Blood's effect activates! It attaches to your monster!"

Chase looked on in confusion as his monster was splashed with the liquid. "Now, during each of our main phases, your monster will lose 200 attack points!" explained Eric.

Chase was indifferent. "Since you wasted your summon, it's my move." He drew and his monster flinched. (1600/1500) "I play **Level Up!** to force my monster to evolve! This will also destroy your monster, which is equipped to mine." Chase's monster grew even more in size as silvery liquid was expelled from its body.

"Wrong!" shouted Eric. "When Battery Blood is supposed to be destroyed, your monster is destroyed instead. Then, Battery Blood returns to being a monster on my side of the field."

Chase's monster spasmed and exploded. "Fine. I set one monster face down and end my turn."

"This is turning out to be less of a challenge than I thought." said Eric as he drew. "I play the magic card **Metal Trilobyte** to special summon a level two monster to the field. Come out **DNA-Blueprint A**!" (750/900) A small, rickety looking chunk of a DNA model appeared on the field. "I then sacrifice my monster for **Viral Rockets**!" (1900/1700) Two strange-looking missiles appeared on Eric's side of the field. Battery Blood glowed for a second before flying onto Eric's new monster.

"First, the effect of Viral Rockets gives it an extra 300 attack points for my other monster being on the field and another 300 for your own monster. Then, Battery Blood equips to Viral Rockets." (2500/1700)

"Wait," said Chase. "Shouldn't your monster's attack points go down since your other monster is no longer a monster?" he inquired.

"The effect of Battery Blood makes all positive stat changes permanent, meaning that Viral Rockets does not lose its extra bonus. To show you how powerful my monster is, I attack your face down card!" Eric's two rockets launched themselves at Chase's monster, killing it instantly.

"You destroyed **Spear Cretin**, meaning we both choose one monster in our graveyards and revive them." Chase explained, knowing that this helped Eric much more than it helped him.

"Thanks for the 600 point boost, plus letting me bring back my **Nanotech Antibodies**." said Eric as his monster skyrocketed to 3100 attack points.

Chase selected his **Residual Chaos LV4**. "My move now." he said as he drew. "I attack your antibodies!" he shouted. Eric's monsters were engulfed in green goo and promptly fizzled out of existence.

"Darn...oh well." Eric muttered. "But that's okay, because thanks to **Battery Blood**, my monster retains all the bonus points it gained."

Chase grimaced, but removed his monster from his DuelDisk. "Since, during your last turn, a card was sent to the graveyard, my monster evolves again!" (2600/2300) Chase's monster, already fairly well defined, grew even more in size until it was level with Chase himself. The blobs that composed its hands and feet molded into recognizable appendages. A nose protruded slightly from its face and a faint sort of crevice appeared for its mouth. Spiky hair jutted out from the top of its head. Metal plates covered its chest, forearms, and shins. "I set this card face down and end my turn." Chase declared.

"I'm afraid that you left your monster in attack mode." said Eric as he drew. "But that's alright, because I'll summon **DNA-Blueprint B** to the field in attack mode!" (1500/1350) "This monster's effect will probably not be used in this duel, but it'll make sure you lose." Eric declared as he moved into his battle phase. "Viral Rockets, attack his Chaos monster!"

The rockets again fired themselves. Chase, however, was prepared. "Activate **Interdimensional**** Matter Transporter**!" A bizarre machine shimmered into existence behind Chase's fiend. The green monster was sucked into the machine and the two rockets exploded harmlessly. Harmlessly, that is, for Chase. Eric, however, was shocked to see that his life points dropped by 1650. "What!" he demanded.

"The effect of Residual Chaos LV6 declares that if you decide to attack, you lose life points equal to half your monster's attack. And when I last checked, Viral Rockets' attack was 3700. (C LP: 2150 E LP: 1900)

"Fine, but now I can attack you with my blueprint!" Eric's segment of DNA started to rapidly split and multiply. Several strands launched themselves at Chase and exploded. Chase's life points dipped to a mere 650.

"My move." Chase's monster reappeared on the field as he drew. "Since I removed from play my Residual Chaos during your turn, my monster now achieves its final evolutionary state! Evolve!" (3200/2900) Chase's monster evolved one more time, now roughly the height of a small house. Its gelatinous body took on muscles. Its armor became etched with designs, and a silvery cloak fluttered behind its body. Finally, a metal sword hilt appeared in its right hand.

"It's still not enough to defeat my monster, especially since you just raised its attack to 4000!" Eric challenged.

"You're right. But after I activate this card, it'll be more than strong enough to destroy you. However, I can't activate it just yet, so I set it face down on the field." Chase replied, ending his turn.

"All that fuss for nothing. Oh well, I know you're bluffing. There's no trap card that can raise your monster's attack high enough to defeat my monster. Just to be sure, though, I'll activate my facedown card, **Limiter Removal**! Now my monster has 8000 attack points! And if that still isn't enough to finish you, my DNA Blueprint has 3000 attack points. Attack now!" Eric commanded.

The two rockets fired off at Chase's monster, but were stopped by a trio of blue-robed women who were chanting a spell.

"Stalling, eh?" Eric asked. "That's okay. My blueprint might be destroyed at the end of my turn, but Battery Blood prevents my rockets from being destroyed immediately. Plus, it leaves my monster with 8000 attack points. You're finished. There's no monster in the game that has more than 4500 attack points, which is still a far cry from 8000."

Chase smiled and snapped his fingers. Residual Chaos pointed its sword hilt at Viral Rockets. A beam of green energy shot from the metal and struck the twin monsters. When the light faded, the two were no longer on the field.

"What?" Eric gasped.

"The effect of my monster states that if you attack, the attacking monster is removed from play." Chase replied curtly.

Eric paled. "But...but I..."

"Sorry. But I think I win." Chase said as he directed his monster to attack.

"**Ring of Destruction**!" shouted Eric. A ring attached to several grenades latched itself to Chase's monster. It exploded, taking Residual Chaos with it, and both players' life points dropped to zero.

"Whoa..." muttered Adriel.  
"Well, I guess neither of us won." said Eric.

"Yeah...but still. That was a great duel. It was enough to quench my thirst for a battle. Glad you're in my dorm, though. Otherwise we might have to duel for points...or whatever this academy uses to let us advance..." Chase replied.  
Adriel yawned. "Well guys, I'm a bit tired...kind of a long day, right? I'm going to bed." he turned and walked back into the dorm, followed shortly by the other two "musketeers".


	5. Hanyou

Disclaimer: I don't own YGO...unfortunately (I'd make a lot of money!)

I'm back from sabbatical! And this week is spring break, meaning that I have a bit of time to write!

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Dragon Arc

Chapter 5: Hanyou 

Adriel awoke to the sounds of birds chirping and the ocean waves beating against the side of the cliff. The scent of the sea air was strong and he could even feel the breeze from inside his room. "Ah..." he muttered. "I wish I could stay like this forever." Adriel quickly retracted his demonic features before hopping out of bed. The clock read 6:49.

"So I've got about 10 hours to get acclimated to this place." he said to himself as he walked into the bathroom. "Wonder if I know anybody else here?"

* * *

Adriel stepped back into the room. Chase was standing outside the bathroom door and Eric was lying in bed, though he was clearly awake. 

"Morning." said Chase in a hoarse tone as he pushed past Adriel.

"Good morning." Adriel replied. Eric looked up.

"Oh, hey Adriel. What're you going to do today?" he asked.

"I'm just going to walk around a bit. Meet people and whatnot." Adriel replied.

"Cool. Mind if I join you?" Eric asked.

"Not at all."

* * *

By 8:30, all three boys were in the dining hall. "Breakfast is...strange..." said Chase under his voice as he stuck his hand in a large bin filled with different kinds of bread. "Egg..." Chase said as he unwrapped his meal. 

"I got egg, too." Eric replied as Chase sat down.

"Mine is pizza." Adriel commented as he took a bite out of his bread.

"Ha, I knew it!" said a familiar feminine voice.

"Good job, Eri!" cheered another, higher voice.

"Yeah, there's no way you'd be wrong!" added a second high-pitched girl.

"Well you know, it's all skill." Eri replied as she took a bite.

"What? What's so special about bread?" asked Adriel.

Eri snorted in a derogatory way. "If you knew anything, you'd know that I just drew the golden egg. There's only one in this entire heap of bread, and I got it." she said cockily.

"That sounds more like luck than skill..." Adriel muttered quietly.

Eri's ears twitched and her hand was instantly around Adriel's neck. "Are you challenging my skill?" she demanded in a threatening tone.  
A split second later, Eri was in an equally compromising position. "I'm not saying anything." Adriel replied.

Eri sniffed the air softly. Her eyes widened slightly before setting themselves in a merciless glare. "I knew there was something about you. You'd better watch yourself, or you'll find your useless ass in a darkness game, _hanyou_." Eri said all this in a near-silent tone that only Adriel could hear. She released her grip and Adriel did the same. Eri quickly twisted on her heel and walked away, followed by the two girls who were cheering for her earlier.

"...what was that?" asked Chase.

"Don't know...I guess she doesn't like me." Adriel replied, a bit bothered by what Eri had said. _"How did she know? There wasn't anything demonic about me! I hid my blood, just like dad told me to, and my fangs weren't showing...at least, I don't think they were...oh hell..." _

"Adriel...wake up..." said a voice. Eric was waving his hand in front of Adriel's face.

"Huh? Oh...sorry." Adriel replied.

"We're going on a walk, right?" Eric asked.

"Yeah. Chase, you wanna join us?" Adriel asked.

"Sure, why not?" the boy replied.

* * *

An hour or so later, the group had passed by the Ra Yellow dorms, the educational facilities, and several recreational areas. Lots of people were dueling in each of those locations. "Man, I'm bored...I want to duel someone!" Adriel whined. 

"Well go ahead. There are lots of people willing to duel around here." Chase pointed out.

"But they all look so _boring_!" Adriel replied. Most of the duelists were using cookie cutter decks.

Eric sighed. "Well, I guess I could duel you..." he muttered.

"No, that's alright." Adriel replied pretty quickly.

"Huh? What's up?" Eric asked.

"Um...nothing, really, I'm just a bit shy around lots of people I don't know." Adriel explained.

"But you were okay with us," Chase said.

"Well, I met each of you one on one." Adriel replied.

"You seemed fine with that Eri girl." Chase added.

"Well she was kind of trying to injure me both times. I couldn't just sit there." Adriel defended.

"Fine, whatever. Honestly, I don't see what's up with you two." Eric sighed. "Adriel, you're shy or something, and Chase, you don't really talk in complete sentences outside of duels. Is civil conversation really that difficult?"

Eric received glares from both his roommates, and he decided to stop talking.

The group continued walking and passed a group of six duelists dueling at once. "That's...complicated." Chase said quietly as one of the players attacked with a **Vorse Raider**, only to be blocked by a **Hallowed Life Barrier **from the attacked player and a **Ring of Destruction** from one of the other two. The third defender chained **Barrel Behind the Door** to his friend's Ring.

"But interesting." Adriel replied.

The group walked on a bit longer and finally reached the Obelisk Blue dorms. "So this is where all the elites stay. Pretty spiffy." Eric said.

"And some day, I'm going to get there. Even if it takes a hundred years, I'll get there." Adriel whispered.

"...if you're here for a hundred years then...never mind." Chase replied.

The group turned around to leave, but a too-familiar voice stopped them in their tracks. "Hey! You three losers!" shouted Eri. Adriel could hear her rapid footsteps approaching. "Turn around when I'm talking to you!" she demanded.

Adriel, Chase, and Eric turned around. "That's better!" Eri said. She skidded to a halt in front of them, and her two friends came panting behind her. "I challenge you three to a duel!" Eri declared.

"Fine with us," Eric said as he turned his DuelDisk on.

"Eri, that's not fair! We'll duel, too." one of Eri's roommates said.

"Yeah, it'll be a three on three!" her other roommate added.

Adriel winced. "Uh, how about I just duel you, Eri?" he suggested.

Eri paused. "Hmm...a one on one with a _hanyou_? Not even a challenge." she said proudly.

"Hanyou? What's a hanyou?" asked Eric.

"Adriel's going to tell us later, isn't he?" replied Chase, narrowing his eyes at Adriel, who grinned sheepishly.

"Uh, sure...anyway, let's duel!" he shouted.

Eri activated her duel disk. "I won't even need to use strategy to beat you." As she drew her five-card hand, shadows erupted out of her and dispersed themselves in the area until Adriel could only see himself and Eri.

"A...darkness game..." he gasped. His father had only told him of these sorts of duels.

"That's right. And when you lose, I'll finally be able to teach you some respect." She drew one more card. "Ah, perfect. I summon **Twisted Fiend** to the field!" (1900/700) An undead black lizard appeared in front of its mistress and bared its fangs. It twisted its supple body around and bit Eri in the neck before twirling in midair and launching itself at Adriel. He, too, was bitten in the neck. "Twisted Fiend drains both of us 300 life points when it appears on the field." (E LP: 3700 A LP: 3700) "Now I'll set two cards face down and end my turn." Two cards appeared lengthwise in front of Eri_.  
_  
Adriel drew. "Why do you hate me?" he asked as he rearranged his hand.

"Because you disrespected me. And I won't have anyone at this school disrespect me." she replied. Adriel noticed that her uniform was yellow, signifying she was one rank up from him.

_When did I disrespect her?_ Adriel asked himself as he pulled a card from his hand. "I start by summoning a monster in defense mode and setting one card as well." Two cards appeared in front of Adriel.

Eri yawned. "How boring. You didn't even try to attack me. Oh well. I summon another powerful monster to punish you! **Death Calibre Knight**!" (1900/1800) A monster on a demonic horse appeared next to the black lizard. "Attack his face down monster now!"

Eri's monster charged at Adriel's side of the field and slashed at the lone monster. It flipped up, however, and knocked Eri's monster away.  
"I thought you'd try to attack with a powerful monster, so I set **The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave** in defense mode. Its 2000 defense points are more than enough to fend off your creature." (E LP: 3600)

"Fine." Eri said flatly. "End turn."

"My move." Adriel said. He looked at his card and smiled. "I sacrifice my dragon for one of a different sort. Come out **Cyber Dragon**!" (2100/1600) The form of Adriel's mechanical dragon appeared on the field. "Now that I have a strong monster on the field, I'll attack your Death Calibre Knight!"

As a burst of orange energy flew at the demonic rider, Eri flashed a grin. "Just what I wanted you to do. Activate set card **Blackest Soul**!" Eri's knight and Adriel's dragon both glowed black. A small blob of energy flew from the Cyber Dragon to the Death Calibre Knight.

"What does that do?" Adriel asked worriedly.

"Blackest Soul switches the attack points of the attacker and the target. Meaning you're about to take 200 points of damage." she explained.  
Adriel grimaced as his monster's attack was struck by the knight's sword and reflected. (A LP: 3500) His monster blew into pieces.

"Activate other set card, **Chain of the Underworld**!" Eri shouted. A rusted chain with a spiked tip shot into the space where Adriel's dragon once stood. The monster was pulled out of the ground, but looked much more beat up because of it. (1400/1600)

"This card revives your monster in attack mode with 700 less points than it had originally. And next turn, I'm going to destroy it and deal you even more damage!" Eri cackled. Adriel began to sweat.

"Your move." he said softly as his dragon tried to move.

"My move indeed." She drew, and her grin became even more malevolent. "Perfect!" She slapped two cards onto her DuelDisk. "I play **Dark Soul Infusion** and **Black Soul Sword**!" The field became shrouded in darkness. Adriel's already worn out monster writhed in pain as its metal blackened and twisted before losing almost all of its strength and collapsing to the ground. (900/1600)

"My monster!" Adriel shouted.

"Dark Soul Infusion makes all monsters fiends and removes 500 attack points from all your cards. Black Soul Sword," she explained as a sinister-looking sword appeared in the hand of her knight, "Raises its owner's attack points by 1000 for every fiend on the field. And thanks to my last card, that count is now three. So my monster's attack points are now 4900, in case you actually are as stupid as you look."

_Oh man..._ Adriel thought to himself, panicked.

"Death Calibre Knight, attack his pathetic monster and end this duel!" Eri's monster rushed Adriel's dragon and Adriel closed his eyes.

_If her card's effect only depends on what was on the field at the time of activation, I'm through. But I have one last chance to pull this off._ He opened his eyes. "Activate **DNA Injection**!"

A hypodermic needle stabbed itself into Adriel's dragon and rapidly emptied its contents into the creature. Cyber Dragon's metal became polished steel again and it looked up weakly at the oncoming attack.

"No!" Eri shouted as Adriel's monster was eliminated. His life points, however, remained at a miniscule 500. "Good play..." she said, seething, "But not good enough! Twisted Fiend, finish-" she started.

"Hold on!" Adriel shouted. "The second effect of my trap activates! When the monster it changed is destroyed, I summon a monster from my deck with the sub-type I changed the original monster into. I summon a second **Cyber Dragon**!" (2100/1600) A snakelike, metal dragon appeared in front of Adriel, much stronger-looking than its fallen brother.

"Fine, but that won't save you for long. End turn." Eri said_.  
_  
"You know," Adriel started, drawing his card. "DNA Injection reminded me of something. Right now, no one can see us, or did my father tell me wrong about darkness games?"

Eri nodded ever so slightly. In reply, Adriel let out a sigh of relief and began to transform. The wolf demoness only took one step back before regaining her composure. "So you really are a hanyou, aren't you?" she spat.

"Yes, I am. My father is Ryu Zaytel, formerly known as-" Adriel started, but Eri cut him off.

"I know all about _your_ father. _My _father told me all about him. The ex-general, right? Big deal. Now shut up and duel."

Adriel growled and his eyes flashed steel blue. "Fine, I will." he said. "I activate **Monster Reborn** to revive my **Cyber Dragon**." The form of Adriel's first dragon, fully restored, appeared next to its brother. "Now I activate **Power Bond** to fuse them together along with the dragon in my hand to form **Cyber End Dragon**!" (4000/3500)

Eri smirked. "Don't forget the other effect of Power Bond."

Adriel nodded knowingly. "I know. During my end phase, I lose the original attack points of my monster. But until then, its attack points are doubled!" (8000/3500) "And no matter which of your monsters I attack, you lose!" he shouted. His cry echoed through the darkness.

"Then go ahead. Finish me off." Eri challenged.

"Fine, I will. Cyber End Dragon, Eternal Evolution Burst!" Each of Adriel's monster's three heads fired a steady stream of orange energy, which converged on her knight.

Eri smirked as the orange light enveloped her. "Stupid _hanyou_..." she said as she put a card in her graveyard.

Adriel's monster gradually stopped its attack. The half-demon watched to see what had happened. He was surprised and scared to see both of Eri's monsters still standing. A large shield made of bone was sitting in front of her Death Calibre Knight.

"Wha...what?" he asked in terror.

"You stupid, stupid _hanyou _boy!" Eri shouted in a mix of rage, annoyance, and glee. "I activated **Bone Shield**. By discarding one card from my hand, my shield can be activated no matter where it is, including my hand. Your attack was negated. And you know what that means, right?" she said in sadistic pleasure.

"My...monster..." Adriel said, not able to string together a coherent sentence. Every seam of his machine began to glow with white light as its overpowered body began to decompose. It exploded in a stunningly bright fire, burning Adriel's last life points away. (E LP: 3600 A LP: 0)

Eri's field faded away and the DuelDisks deactivated.

"Now then, the punishment..." Eri said as she walked over to Adriel, who dared not move.

"Uhh...punishment?" Adriel asked, pretending not to know about the consequences of a darkness game.

"Yes, a punishment. In your case, I think...you have to go around as a dragon demon for an entire week. No going back into human mode." she declared.

"WHAT!" Adriel shouted.

"Don't worry, they'll all forget after the week is over. I wouldn't want anyone putting you on my level just because you have some demon blood. I just want to see how you feel once everyone knows you're a freak." she said bitterly.

"It seems that no one cares about you being a demon," Adriel observed. Eri backhanded him so hard that he flew to the ground and skidded three times before coming to a halt.

"That's because I am strong. You, on the other hand, are pathetically weak. They'll all know that you can't handle being half demon. And then they'll all point and laugh. And I know you won't be able to deal with it." she explained.

"That sounds like a firsthand experience." Adriel said. Eri rushed to kill him, but the darkness began to clear and she restrained herself.

"What the...hell...?" came the shocked mutterings of the crowd that had gathered around the darkness sphere. Adriel looked around. Eric and Chase were backing away slowly, and everyone else was too paralyzed to move. Everyone else, that is, except Eri and her roommates, who were walking swiftly back towards the Ra Yellow dormitories.

"Dude..." muttered Chase.

Adriel, horrified that Eri might have been right, took flight instantly and headed for his room.


	6. Notes

Disclaimer: I don't own YGO...unfortunately (I'd make a lot of money!)

Just so you all know, it's still spring break (March 19 to 27) while I'm writing this. Weekly updates is what I'm aiming for, and I might get several chapters ahead over this week. Which is really quite good, in case writer's block strikes.

PS: Heh, you all are probably going to get annoyed for a while at how things just keep on falling into Adriel's hands...but trust me, that's about to end between this and the next chapter.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Dragon Arc

Chapter 6: Notes 

When Chase and Eric arrived, Adriel was curled up in his bunk.

"...Adriel?" Eric asked.

"Go away. You all hate me. Eri was right." came the muffled reply.

"We don't hate you." Chase said. "We just...we want answers, okay?" Adriel didn't respond.

"Listen, no one knows what happened out there. You went in human and you came out as a dragon...thing..." Eric told his roommate. "From what it looked like, though, Eri did something to you and none of this is your fault. But if that's true, you should definitely tell it to everyone else." he continued.

"They won't even let me talk to them. They'd just run away." Adriel said through his pillow.

"Have you even tried yet?" Chase asked.

"...no." Adriel replied.

"Well then how about you tell us first, then." Eric suggested.

"No, I'm not telling anyone! Leave me alone!" Adriel shouted, flying out of his bed and crashing through the window. He headed for the forest. "Maybe Aeron can help." he said to himself.

* * *

With the aid of his demonic senses, Adriel found the hideout that Aeron noted in his letter quite easily. He pulled on the worn-out rope that was hidden in the topsoil and a large wooden plate came with it. Adriel descended down the dirt incline and closed the hatch behind him, grabbing a stick off the ground and breathing his own kind of 'flame' onto its tip. The branch lit with a cool, blue glow which illuminated the area. The 'searing wind', as Adriel called his personal lighter, cast a soft light over the area surrounding the half-demon and he began to walk through the tunnel. 

Finally, Adriel reached a wooden door. He turned the knob and passed through the threshold. In response to his entrance, dim lights turned on and a videophone activated. "Uhh...right. Autodial." Adriel said, trying to compose himself as he pressed the button.

A few moments later, the screen flickered to life and Aeron was staring into the screen.

"So I see Eri got to you." Aeron said, noting Adriel's demonic features.

"How did you know?" Adriel asked.

"You hide your demonic side whenever you can, and Eri is...how to put it...a bit hasty in initiating darkness games. It was simple logic." the proctor replied.

"So...why did you want me to call?" asked the half-demon.

"I have some information that could be helpful." Aeron replied. "But first, look in the gap between the phone and the wall."

Adriel looked behind the phone and saw a white envelope. He opened it and found four cards inside.

TYP – DR2 Ult. Rare  
**Dragonic**** Heritage** SPELL  
Spell/Quickplay  
All monsters in your hand, deck, fusion deck, field, graveyard, and removed from play zone are changed to Dragon sub-types. If their sub-type is changed by a card effect, when that effect is negated, their sub-type is changed back to Dragon. Any of your cards whose effect designates a non-Dragon sub-type monster(s) on the field can now designate a Dragon sub-type monster(s) instead.

TYP – DR3 Ult. Rare  
**Dragon's Brood** TRAP  
Trap/Counter  
When a Dragon sub-type monster(s) on your side of the field is destroyed, special summon monster(s) from your hand, deck, or graveyard whose level stars equal no more than half the level stars of the destroyed monster(s). Those monsters cannot attack, and they are destroyed during the second end phase of the turn in which they were summoned.

TYP – DR4 Ult. Rare  
**Dragon's Roar **SPELL  
Spell/Quickplay  
Activate this card when your opponent designates an attack. If you have a dragon sub-type monster on your side of the field, negate the attack and switch the attacking monster to defense mode. If you do not have a dragon sub-type monster on your side of the field, negate the attack.

TYP – DR5 Ult. Rare  
**Rare Jewel Dragon **DARK  
Lv. 0  
Dragon/Effect  
This card can only be special summoned by tributing "Luster Dragon #1", "Luster Dragon #2", "Hyozanryu", "Diamond Dragon", or "Crystal Dragon". This card's attack and defense points are equal to those of the tributed monster. This monster's level is equal to the level of the tributed monster. This monster is unaffected by all your opponent's spell cards that specifically target one monster on the field and all his or her trap cards.

"These..." Adriel said in wonder.

"Are good cards. I know. Anyway, listen up. Now that I know you're safe, I'll be returning to the very spot you're at right now. Maybe by then I'll know more information." Aeron replied.

"Do you know anything?" Adriel asked.

"A little. Just that whoever hired me wants you and a bunch of other kids about your age at the academy. I have no idea what their plan is. All that was mentioned is that he needed help in 'gathering the seal holders', whatever that means." Aeron said.

"...seal holders? You mean like the Seal of Orichalcos?" Adriel asked.

"I don't know. But hopefully it's not at all like that, or else the academy might have to be shut down. You know about what happened the last time the Seal was used, right?"

Adriel nodded in reply. "Yeah, it was a total disaster."

Aeron was about to explain more, but a fairly loud knock was audible from off-screen. "Hey, Adriel, I have to go now. Just don't let Eri freak you out too much, and play it cool until I get to the academy." Without a reply from Adriel, the proctor shut off the videophone.

Adriel sighed. "Well, I'd better find Chase and Eric..." he said as he ascended out of the hideout.

* * *

"Adriel, come out!" shouted Eric. He and Chase were roaming the woods, trying to find Adriel. The boy shouted in surprise as the ground beneath him was lifted up and he fell over. "Huh?" he asked. 

"Oh...hi." Adriel replied, replacing the door.

"You're...really strong." Eric said as he got up and brushed his uniform off.

"Yeah. Now can you please tell us what's going on and why you ran off?" Chase asked, walking over. Adriel paused for a moment before he made up his mind.

"Alright. The truth is that I'm half dragon." Adriel said, sighing. Taking the silence as an indication of attention, he continued. "My father is a dragon demon and my mother is a human. So they got me, a _hanyou_." he said.

"Hanyou, yeah, what does that mean?" Eric asked.

"Half demon." Adriel replied before continuing. "Anyway, my demon parts were always causing trouble. I'd knock things over with my tail or my wings would get in the way, my horns would get stuck in my pillow...so my mom asked my dad to teach me to repress my powers, which I have been ever since I got here."

"So...why didn't you tell anyone?" Chase questioned.

"Because I'm not normal. I don't want to go around with everyone afraid or something." Adriel replied.

"But Eri walks around with those ears all the time, and no one says anything." Eric said.

"Yeah, but if anyone _did _say anything, she'd kill them." responded Adriel. "Anyway. What you just saw is called a darkness game. The winner chooses a punishment which is automatically inflicted upon the loser. Eri said that I had to go around as a dragon demon for a week." Adriel explained.

Chase sat down and looked up at his roommate. "Then go around as a dragon demon for a week. If Eri can make people shut up, then so can you."

Eric nodded. "Besides, you have us. And if anyone tries to kick you out or something, we won't let them. Right, Chase?" the other boy nodded in accord.

"Thanks." Adriel said as he started to walk back towards the academy.

* * *

"Aw man," Chase groaned as he closed the door to his room. The window, which had been shattered by Adriel, was letting in cold air. Adriel noticed a note on the ground and picked it up. 

_"Meet me tonight by the Ra Yellow dormitories. Come alone."_

There was no signature. "Hey Adriel, what is that?" asked Eric.

"Uh, nothing. I guess a piece of trash just blew in through the window." Adriel replied as he burned the note.

"Whoa, what was that?" asked Chase.

"Oh, that's part of being half dragon demon. I call it searing wind, because it's not exactly fire so much as an energy-charged burst of air. Which reminds me..." Adriel explained as he began to repair the window.

"Dude..." Chase muttered. Adriel kept on piecing random parts of glass together and fusing them into larger plates, which he replaced the main window panes with.

"Oh crap!" shouted Eric.

"What, what's wrong?" asked Adriel.

"OPENING CEREMONY!" screamed Eric, already halfway out the door. Chase and Adriel followed him.

* * *

Eri stood outside of the entrance hall, waiting confidently for Adriel with her roommates. "I guess the hanyou was too afraid to show his face in public again." she said. 

Her ears twitched and she looked up. Adriel was arcing through the sky and suddenly flared his wings, halting most of his movement as he dropped to the ground without a noise. "Good evening, Eri." he said cheerfully. Eri was speechless. Chase and Eric brushed past the wolf demoness and followed Adriel into the building.

"Welcome students! You are the best of the best, and I am blah blah blah..." even with demonic senses, Adriel couldn't help but fall into such a boredom that he couldn't understand what the principal was saying.

"How much longer?" he asked himself.

Adriel snapped out of his stupor as he felt something attack the back of his head. "Ow!" he said in a hushed tone. He ducked down and picked up a plastic card protector with two things inside of it. "Hey, today is really my lucky day, isn't it?" he asked himself. The first thing in the container was another card which was in the same family of Adriel's new Rare Jewel Dragon.

DRA – 012 Super Rare  
**Rare Element Dragon** DARK  
Lv. 6  
2600/1500  
Dragon/Effect  
"Rare Metal Dragon" + "Element Dragon"  
At the time of this card's activation, discard a monster from your hand to the graveyard to give this card one of the following effects, depending on the attribute of the discarded monster:  
-DARK: Once per turn, during your main phase, you may discard one card from your hand to the graveyard to destroy one face-down card on your opponent's side of the field.  
-LIGHT: Once per turn, during your main phase, you may pay 700 life points to discard one card from your opponent's hand and one card from the top of his or her deck to the graveyard.  
-Other: Once per turn, during your main phase, you may discard one card from your hand to the graveyard to tribute one monster on your side of the field to inflict damage to your opponent's life points equal to half that monster's attack strength.

The other thing in the protector was yet another note:

_"There has been a change of plans. Bring your deck."_

Adriel grimaced, but slipped the new card into his deck nonetheless.

* * *

Finally, the opening ceremony was finished. Adriel, Eric, and Chase were all back in their dorm room. Adriel was fixing his deck, Chase was lying in bed, and Eric was looking through some cards that he had just purchased. 

"Hey, you guys, I'm going to go out for a bit." Adriel said suddenly, sweeping his cards together and placing them in his deck box.

"Do you want us to come?" Eric asked, not really paying attention.

"No, that's alright. I should be back soon." Adriel replied as he walked through the door.

* * *

"Hello?" Adriel called. He was in front of the Ra Yellow dormitories, but no one was there. 

"Hi...thank you for coming." said a female voice. Adriel recognized it as that of one of Eri's cheerleaders.

"Oh...hi." he replied, a bit put off.

"Listen...I'm sorry about what happened to you." the girl said apologetically.

"Yeah, but I'm okay with it." Adriel sighed.

"Anyway, I just wanted to make sure you knew that Eri isn't always that mean. I think it's just because you're part demon, so she feels offended that you're ashamed of your blood." the girl added.

"Well, I'm not really ashamed. Just...worried that people will overreact. But I guess now I don't really have to worry about it." Adriel replied.  
"Yeah, well good. Hey, my name is Sammy." the girl said.

"Nice to meet you, Sammy." Adriel smiled.

"Thanks. It's late, I guess, so I'll – eep!" Sammy shrieked.

"Huh?" Adriel muttered. Something was moving at a very fast pace in the bushes around the two students. "Come on out, whoever or whatever you are!" Adriel challenged, baring his fangs.

"Oh, I will, I will. Because now that I know you're a half-demon, I'm very interested in dueling you." a boy's voice replied. Instinctively, Adriel threw his arm in front of Sammy as the third party jumped out of a tree in front of the two of them.

"Good evening, both of you." Jade eyes met blue eyes as both boys activated their DuelDisks.


End file.
